Kylian Mbappé scored three times to lead Real Madrid to a 4-1 home victory over Real Sociedad on Wednesday, in their first La Liga match at the Santiago Bernabéu this season.
Madrid looked sluggish and disjointed in the opening half, drawing audible boos from the home crowd after Sociedad dominated large stretches of play. Thibaut Courtois kept out a close-range effort from Mikel Oyarzabal in the 10th minute, and Sergio Gómez came close with a long-range shot that grazed the far post in the 34th minute.
Mbappé opened the scoring five minutes before the break, converting after Federico Valverde played a precise through-ball to release the Frenchman into the box. Sociedad hit back four minutes later through Luka Sučić, who finished from close range after a defensive mix-up left the ball at his feet.
The second half told a different story. José Mourinho introduced new signing Marc Cucurella after the interval, and Madrid’s intensity shifted noticeably, with Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior combining to threaten the Sociedad backline repeatedly. Mbappé restored Madrid’s lead in the 60th minute with a composed low finish after a quick exchange with Jude Bellingham. Eight minutes later, Bellingham recovered the ball near the touchline and cut it back for Vinícius to tap in at the near post. Mbappé completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute, lobbing the goalkeeper after a clever pass from Vinícius split the defence.
It was also Mourinho’s first return to the Bernabéu as manager in more than 13 years. Speaking at a post-match press conference, he defended his side’s opening half. “There is always a degree of justice in both boos and applause,” he said. “The occasional boo here and there doesn’t hurt anyone — it helps you improve. We all know the Bernabéu and what its fans demand, and I am very pleased with how our players responded under pressure. They produced a brilliant second half — we could have scored even more.”
